I've created water using mirrors before and to be honest, I think it turned out better then. The difference is, previously I used a mirror for the whole pool while this time I mixed mirrors into larger water features. But, we learn from the things we try. It was still unique to have reflective points within the water.

To start, I made sure the mirrors would fit in the water features.

Then, I used some sculpting gel to create some stalagmites within the water and painted them up. (You want to paint them at this stage because they're going to get covered in water after a while.)

FYI, the sculpting gel I'm using here has white flakes mixed in for texture. Painted with some black gesso(paintable primer) then painted normally.

To finish up, I've added some dark black shiny flock around the stalagmites, the same flock that will compose the base of my water features.

This is just a matter of watering down white glue and painting a little around the edges, then pouring the sand over it. (Good idea to pour this over a box / bowl so the extra sand can be cleaned up.)

Mounting the Mirrors

Glued on Top (Quick and Easy)

1. Pour some more of the glue on the surface.
2. Use a tool to spread it about.
3. Place the mirror on the glue.
4. Add flock.

The problem is that as everything settles, the flock lowers into the glue while the mirror stays raised above the surface. Once it dries, you'll need to add a few layers of glue and sand to level things out.

If you can't cut into your surface, you might be limited to this option. If you can...

Embedded (Looks Best)

Trace the mirrors out into your surface, then cut out a hole roughly the same depth as the mirrors are thick.

Once the hole's been tested and is the right depth, add glue and place the mirror in.

Once they're all in place, it starts to add up to an interesting effect.

Creating the Water's Border

To prevent the water medium from spilling out, I like to use clear plastic overhead transparency paper. (Available from many business supply stores like Staples.) It's the same as I used when pouring my Mountain King's river.

1. Cut strips of your transparency paper.
2. Use an old brush (or even your finger) and spread glue on the edge of your terrain.
3. Lay the strips across the edges.

If you have corners, super glue will work to seal it up.

Flocking

Once again, thin a bunch of white glue with water, then spread it out. Try to cover the mirrors unevenly so you don't end up with fake looking circles and squares.

Airbrushing

I used a plastic stringy placemat as a mask and airbrushed some black patterns over the mirrors. This again adds a level of inconsistency to the perfect mirrors.

This is another place where I think it could have been done better. In retrospect, I should have gone over the black with glue and sand to keep these areas more in line with the rest of the flock.

Content on this website may not be reproduced without written permission from myself, Dave Garbe. Note that I'm not a trained artist - the things discussed on this site are mostly from self teaching and it's entirely possible there are better ways to do them.

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